Liberalism: Nay to Tax Refunds, Aye to Statues of Dogs Humping and Deficating
Donahue was chosen by the Berkeley Civic Arts Commission — a public agency under the Office of Economic Development — to create sculptures for each end of the pedestrian bridge. His original design included 28-foot statues honoring the history and daily life of the city of Berkeley. What it didn’t show were the tiny reliefs of dogs in not-so-flattering poses at the bottom of one of the statues.
“I probably had just indications of wildlife in the original application,” Donahue said. “I probably didn’t have the actual poses for all the reliefs.”
While some citizens are growling at this apparent oversight, Berkeley civic arts coordinator Mary Ann Marker doesn’t seem fazed.
“You know they’re only 5 inches – the piece is 28 feet,” she says. “They’re just part of the bottom of the base as extra decoration. They are by no means the main thrust of the piece.”
As for the depictions of the dogs?
“I think they’re just, you know, natural science. They’re just showing what dogs really do,” said Archana Horsting, executive director of the Kala Art Institute in Berkeley.